A Lonely Journey
by JoeySidebottom
Summary: Ryoga is just a guy who is lost in more ways than one. He meets someone who could be more than a friend, but his clueless nature walls it out unintentionally.
1. Chapter 1

It was probably late in the afternoon or early in the evening, but the heavy mist that had settled over the woods made it difficult to tell. Ryoga sighed and bit down on the straps of his heavy backpack, dragging it with difficulty through the gnarled oak roots that broke up the rocky earth of this hellish place. He usually liked to keep the mentality that things could be worse, but that kind of thing was becoming a lost cause. He was cold, wet, and as usual... lost. He wondered what Akane was doing. Was she thinking about him? He hadn't been back to the Tendo dojo in several weeks. Surely she must have thought about him at _some _point. _Hmph_, he thought. _Maybe as P-Chan. I'm sure she misses her pet_, he fussed to himself. He hated the fact that the only way he could be close to the woman he loved was through his curse. It was pretty ironic. Love itself seemed like a curse to him. She would never think of him as more than a friend. If he could accept that, then maybe he could move on and be happy with someone else. No. There had to be a way! There's always a way. Love... finds a way. With renewed vigor, Ryoga dug his hooves into the ground and sped toward the woman he knew he was meant to be with.

Hours passed. The general dimness all around meant that night was falling. Maybe it was time to bunk down for the night. Maybe the mist would lift in the morning and he would be able to find his way a little bit easier. There was a gurgling noise in the distance, which meant that a creek or a river inlet was nearby. He decided to let it lead him. Even someone as directionally challenged as him could follow his ears. He would camp by the river. If he could get a fire going, he could boil water. Returning to his human form would make setting up a tent so much easier. After a few minutes, a rippling in the ground suggested that he had come upon the sand bank. He settled his pack against a tree and began hunting for some wood that was dry enough to burn.

Before he had gotten very far, there was a light splash, and the shape of a person popped above the surface of the water in the middle of the inlet. He put himself on guard, ready for anything... except a half dressed lady. When he saw the curvy physique, Ryoga bolted into his backpack and hid. This person may have seen him, but if he didn't move, perhaps she would leave. The figure moved a little closer. What on earth was that thing? she asked herself. After a moment, she shrugged it off and knelt down by the water to pick something up. Ryoga took a chance and peeked out of an opening in the pack. The lady was bent over quite seductively, and he was not prepared for this. A shocked and embarrassed noise escaped his throat with a sharp, "_B-kee_!" . At this, the lady jumped up and turned fully to face him. She walked with cautious deliberation up to the backpack and opened the top. She let out a relieved laugh when she saw the little piglet. "Why, you're just a little thing! You scared me to death!" she cried. There was some shouting and general commotion in the woods behind them. Ryoga barely took notice. He fainted from shame. "Lum! Are you out here?" An old man with five or six small children emerged from the tangle of trees.

The children ran up and wrapped themselves around the lady's legs. "Lum! What's taking so long? We've been waiting forever!" one of them exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Cho. I was pulling up the fishing net for tonight and some of the lines were caught. I had to go down and pull them free." Lum replied. "What? That water must be freezing! It's awfully cold out here. You're going to catch your death if you aren't careful!" the old man admonished. "I'm fine. It feels good to me, Mikhan." Lum said. She was getting dressed again while the children gathered up the fish and rolled up the net. "What's this?" One of the children picked up Ryoga and shook him a little. It didn't stir him. "Well, it looks like someone left their belongings out here. It's going to rain. We should take them inside. And their pet looks chilled to the bone!" Mikhan tutted. Lum nodded her agreement. "I suppose that's the nice thing to do. If they come looking for everything, the house is easy enough to find. You can see it from here." She lifted the large pack onto her back with relative ease and followed the old man and children into a nearby clearing.

* * *

Author's notes: I do not own the characters from Ranma 1/2: Ryoga and Akane. They belong to the talented Rumiko Takahasi. The Other characters in this chapter are mine, though. Please do not use them without my consent.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryoga had been walking for ages, but at long last he was within sight of the Tendo dojo. Akane was raking leaves into a tarp in the back yard while Ranma was trying to pry himself out of one of Shampoo's crushing hugs. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me?" Akane asked flatly. "You think I'm enjoying this?" Ranma snapped back. Shampoo gazed up at him dreamily. "Ranma work too too hard all day for violent Akane. Is time for relax and play with Shampoo." she sighed. "Why don't you two just get a room already?" Akane fumed. The handle of the rake was cracking in her hand. Ryoga didn't like what he was seeing. "Ooh! Shampoo so glad that Akane finally accepting her chance with groom is gone!" Shampoo squealed happily and started to drag Ranma off by his ponytail. "W-wait! Don't I have a say in this?" he cried. _He could protest harder if he wanted! That animal!_ Ryoga thought. Akane was shaking with rage. "Ranma! You... you...!" "...You PIG!" Ryoga finished as he sharply sank a foot deep into Ranma's face. "I won't stand by and watch Akane's feelings be hurt by a cad like you!" "And just who are you... calling a PIG?" Ranma demanded, shoving Ryoga back hard enough to crack the garden wall. "Eh, P-Chan?" "And just where do you see P-Chan out here?" Ryoga shouted. The two boys furiously traded punches while the ladies looked on with only mild interest.

"You want we go get some bake sweet potato?" Shampoo asked with a yawn. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Akane sighed. Shampoo slapped her fist into her other hand with a soft _pap_. "Aiya! Great Grandmother is need help with big catering job tonight! You come date with Shampoo after work, Ranma!" she called behind her as she crashed through the stone garden wall. Walking around it would have wasted too much of her valuable time. Ranma was a little too busy in the tussle with Ryoga to notice. Not that he would have bothered to return her farewell. She didn't seem to mind. Surely it was implied and she had only missed it.

Ranma was having a really difficult time handling Ryoga today. Ranma was fast, and really very strong, but Ryoga was sturdy. Whenever their fights involved Akane, his strength was monstrous. Be that as it may, Ranma was always just slightly ahead of him, and he forced eventually Ryoga to the ground. Ryoga allowed the fall, using the momentum to bring a foot up to catch Ranma under his ribcage and fling him into the coy pond. Ranma felt the swell in his chest as the breasts began to fill in, and the uncomfortable shift in his pants as his manhood disappeared. He hated the transformation into his female self. It was downright humiliating! He popped back above the surface of the water in a fury, dragging a tidal wave fueled by his enraged chi with him. Ryoga had foolishly turned his back on the pond to gaze lovingly at Akane. Before he could think of something manly to say, the cold shower of pond water and surprised coy rained down on him.

_No. This isn't happening. It can't happen this way! Akane... I'm so sorry!_ Ryoga thought desperately. But no amount of panic or prayer stopped the shift his body was making into P-Chan's tiny form. Ranma's face revealed shock and guilt. He hadn't meant to splash Ryoga in front of Akane. What would she do when she realized the the piglet that had been her pet was Ryoga? She'd probably think he was some kind of pervert!

Ryoga forced himself to look up at her after a long moment of wishing very hard to disappear. As much as he wanted to run, he was paralyzed with fear. Her expression was like a Noh mask. It was impossible to read. Ranma cautiously put a hand on Akane's shoulder. "Akane... don't be mad, okay? I know it's a shock, but he never meant to hurt you. Ryoga's just a..." "Do you actually think I didn't know? Just how dense do you think I am?" Akane demanded. Ranma backed up in horror. "You knew? You knew this whole time? He's been sleeping in your _bed_!" Ryoga couldn't believe what he was hearing! She had known... but... "Do you know what a pain it's been covering this up? Why didn't you say anything?" Ranma cried. "Maybe I was waiting for you guys to be honest with me! Maybe I was giving you a chance to come clean on your own! Or _maybe_... I _liked _having him with me. Ryoga's always treated me with respect and appreciation. He's a perfect gentleman, unlike someone I could mention. I feel safe around him." she answered. Ranma's face contorted with jealousy. "You... feel... safe...eh?"

Akane lifted the piglet gently from the mud and cradled him gently in the crook of her arm. _All this time_, Ryoga thought, _she wanted to be with me. Oh, Akane.._. He nuzzled into her chest and breathed in her sweet scent. Akane... "Um... Excuse me, but that's entirely inappropriate." Ryoga started at the sound of Akane's voice. It sounded exactly like an old man.

Reality snapped back into focus, and Ryoga realized he had been dreaming... and also snuggling into the flabby chest of an eight-five-year-old man with a deadpan face. "_B-keeee!_" he squealed in terror as cold shivers passed through his body. _Why, God? Why?_

He heard a door open and close across the room. "Mikhan? I'm back! I couldn't find anyone out there, so I guess someone just left all their stuff here by mistake. I guess we can just hang onto it for now." Lum stripped off her long trench coat and galoshes by the door. Ryoga recognized her as the young woman from the river. He took the opportunity to look around the room, anywhere but at her. He was still embarrassed to have seen her in barely a bikini. The fact that she was now dressed in jeans and a fuzzy sweater didn't matter. There wasn't much left to the imagination at this point, and he couldn't block it from his mind. They lived in a moderate sized house, from what he could guess. They were in a living area currently, kneeling by a roaring fire. In the back of the room, there was a Western-style sofa and a television playing a bright cartoon show where six small children were sprawled out on pillows, watching with rapt attention. Beside it there was a hallway entrance that Ryoga assumed led to the bedrooms and bathroom. More-so in the middle of the room was a traditional kotatsu that was set up with dishes for dinner. The opening for the kitchen was directly across from the fireplace, and the delicious scent of potato leek soup wafted gently throughout the house. All of the wall space in the rest of the room was taken up by bookshelves and pictures of various smiling strangers. It was all very homey, Ryoga thought to himself.

In his observational daze, he hadn't noticed that Lum had come up to kneel beside the old man and was looking directly the little piglet. She smiled sweetly. "All warmed up, little one? Ha! Why are you blushing?" "He seems to have taken I shine to me, I think." Mikhan said with a laugh. Ryoga groaned and rolled his eyes in despair. "Maybe so. Well, in any case, you're going to be staying with us until your owner comes back. Is that okay with you?" Lum asked in a rhetorical tone. Ryoga retreated a little into the old man's side when she reach over to pat him on the head. She seemed a little hurt by this. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetie. Come on. It's dinner time." she announced. The piglet's stomach betrayed him with a responding rumble. Lum lifted him from the safety of Mikhan's arms and set him down gently beside the table. He was then presented with a hot bowl of soup and a bit of bread. He didn't want to be rude, and he _was _very hungry after all, so he obligingly ate while everyone else tucked into their own meals.

The children kept stealing glances at him throughout the meal as though he were a new toy, and it made Ryoga very uncomfortable. The soup was delicious, though. If he tried to focus on eating, it was a little easier to block out all the stares he was getting. There was a movie playing across the room, but it was really just ambient noise because the group of people were talking amongst themselves cheerily. From what he was able to gather, Mikhan ran a home for orphaned children in the area, so all the children were currently between families. Lum was an art teacher in town that had agreed to help out with the home in exchange for a place to stay. This was somewhat surprising. Aside from Miss Hinako at Ranma's high school, most of the teachers he had known were middle aged. If he had to guess, Lum couldn't have been more than twenty or so. They all seemed so happy together. Ryoga felt a twinge of jealousy. He never really had any proper time with his family like this. Sure, he and his parents loved one another, but they all had such appalling senses of direction, they were only very rarely in the house at the same time. Even if he was an outsider, it was a very warm thing indeed to be in a home like this.

As Lum cleared the table and washed the dishes, Ryoga allowed the children to play with him. No sense in drawing attention to himself. Once everyone was asleep, he would make his exit. He couldn't be sure exactly where he was, but that left him in no different position than where he had started earlier that day.

After cleaning up, it was bath time. Mikhan offered to bathe the children to give Lum a break, but within moments there were naked little bodies running in a defiant sprint all over the place. Mikhan hobbled after them as fast as he could, insisting that he could handle it as Lum looked on with a bemused expression. Ryoga smiled to himself and came to stand in the middle of the room as a distraction. When the children ran up to him, they found themselves plucked up and carried off two at a time by Mikhan back to the bathtub. "Thank you very much! You're quite the little helper!" Mikhan called over his shoulder as a child named Nami laughed and screamed, "Mutiny! The piggy betrayed us!" Lum laughed to herself and settled herself on the sofa with a book, her feet tucked to one side of her. Ryoga wasn't used to seeing people sit quite so casually, but then, his family was very traditional and formal. Unsure what to do with himself, he sat down beside his backpack against the wall and pretended to be asleep. The farce didn't last long, though. The warmth of the crackling fire and the soft patter of rain on the windows soon soothed him into a light doze. This place wasn't so bad.

When Mikhan and Lum had the children all tucked into bed for the night, they decided to enjoy a cup of tea together before turning in themselves. Ryoga didn't notice Lum running water into the kitchen sink, making a miniature bubble bath for the piglet while the kettle was warming up. He didn't notice being lifted into her arms and carried across the room. He didn't notice being lowered into the shallow bath. But he absolutely noticed when Lum began to scream at the teenage boy that was now scrunched up naked in her kitchen sink. Panic seized his heart and he also began to scream as Mikhan looked on with only a raised eyebrow changing his normal deadpan expression. Lum went on the offensive and grabbed a shotgun from one of the high cupboards. Ryoga bolted out of the sink and did his best to cover his unmentionables while trotting clumsily backwards towards his pack. "I... I'm sorry! I can explain! Please!" he cried. "What the hell _are _you? Some kind of demonic _pervert_?" Lum demanded. "No! No, not at all! Please be reasonable!" Ryoga pleaded while trying to struggle into his pants. It would be easy enough to overpower her, but he didn't want to hurt her, and he sure didn't want to try while he was naked. "Be _reasonable_?" Lum asked. "Y-yes? Please?" Ryoga replied. "That's not an answer." Lum said in a low and threatening tone. Her finger moved to the trigger. Speed wasn't really a strong point of Ryoga's. He would probably survive solely from his abnormal toughness, but nobody really appreciates a buckshot to the face. Irrespective, he only had seconds to make a decision.


	3. Chapter 3

BANG! The gun was ruined. Ryoga had clamped his hand down and crushed the barrel of the weapon as it was being fired. The shock sent Lum backwards to crash into the cabinet. Ryoga dashed forward to help her up. He hadn't meant to hurt her. But his effort was rewarded with a hard slap across the face. "Hands off, psycho!" Lum jumped up and assumed a fighting stance. Ryoga recognized the foot posture and slightly facing palms as a Tai Chi form, a good martial art for using an opponent's strength against them. His face stung a little, and he didn't appreciate being called a psycho. "Now see here! I was only trying to..." he was cut off by Lum charging him and throwing fluid punches that were only too easy to block and dodge for a person of his skill. However, anytime he tried to be gentle and push her into a sitting position to calm her down, he wound up tottering off balance from his own momentum being turned against him. _That's enough_, he thought, _I have to end this_. All he had to do was show a little excessive strength, and she'd back off. Then he would make his exit. He didn't like to leave bad blood between people who were basically good, but she was leaving him with no choice. He let his ki get heavy and cried, "Shishi Hokodan!" releasing a Lion's Roar Blast through the open kitchen window, purposefully missing his opponent and keeping the size of his energy bomb small enough to avoid doing any damage to the house. Lum's eyes widened in fear, but she held her ground. She was trembling, but unwilling to give up on protecting their home. It was foolish, but admirable. Ryoga was about to shoulder his pack and take his leave when Mikhan walked between the two young people with a tray set with three mugs and a kettle. "Join us, won't you? We were just going to have a cup of tea." he offered as though nothing unusual had happened.

"What?" Ryoga and Lum asked together. "Unless I'm mistaken, you've visited the cursed springs at Jusenkyo. Am I correct?" Mikhan asked. Ryoga nodded in surprise. "Y-yes, sir. You know of Jusenkyo?" "What the hell is Jusenkyo?" Lum asked, still high strung from the fight. "Calm yourself, Lum. Perhaps this young man would be kind enough to share his story. There's no sense in fighting. After all, he hasn't really caused any trouble tonight, has he?" Lum looked down at the floor in embarrassment. That was true enough. He had been in the house for several hours, and had done absolutely nothing wrong. If Mikhan knew something about why he was the way he was, maybe he could be trusted enough to have tea with. As much as Ryoga wanted to leave this uncomfortable misadventure behind him and just go, he also felt that these people deserved an explanation. Up until just a moment ago, they had shown him only kindness and hospitality.

"I was pursuing Ranma Saotome, a rival of mine. He and his father stopped to train at the cursed springs, and I was knocked into the spring of drowned pig. Whenever I'm doused with cold water, I take the form of a young piglet. When doused with hot water, I return to my original state. I've been living with it for some time now. I'm sorry for alarming you, but I was traveling back to Tokyo after a training journey and it began to rain very suddenly. I had no time to retrieve my umbrella to stave off the transformation and... well... I guess you caught me by surprise by the river." Ryoga began to blush furiously at the memory of Lum's nearly bare body. She didn't really seem to mind. Lum nodded slowly. "Well, that explains a lot. How bizarre. I'm awfully sorry about what just happened. You must think very poorly of me now." she said. Ryoga's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, no! Not at all! I mean, heh, you took it a lot better than most people have." He laughed a little and scratched the back of his head in a good-natured manner. Lum allowed herself a little smile. "That's very kind of you, um..." "Oh! I'm sorry! I am Ryoga Hibiki. It's an honor to officially make your acquaintance, ma'am." he said. "This is Mikhan Somoro, and I'm Lumjoi Tamari. You may call me Lum, everyone does. And yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ryoga." Lum said.

They sat in silence for a moment sipping their respective cups of tea. _This is a little less embarrassing, I suppose. At least I was able to clear things up before I left. They're nice enough people_, Ryoga thought to himself. When the tea was finished, he stood and bowed his appreciation. "Thank you for your kindness. I will be going now." he said. "Nonsense!" Mikhan laughed. "It's pouring out there. According to the weather report, it's going to be torrential for the next two days, actually. It's nearly impossible to navigate these woods in bad weather, and I can only imagine what it would be like for a little pig to try and make it through while this storm is going on. No, you'll stay here with us until it clears up on Monday." he announced. "Yes, and I can lead you out when I head into town for my classes." Lum added. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly..." Ryoga protested. He didn't want to take advantage of these people any more than he already had. "None of that, lad. We have spare futons and plenty of space." Mikhan held up a hand to silence any rebuttal that Ryoga had waiting and retreated down the hallway to set up a guest room for the young man. It was useless to argue. Ryoga reluctantly sat his pack down against the wall again. He knelt beside the table and awaited permission for his next action.

Lum walked into the kitchen to fetch a small box which turned out to be a first aid kit. When she returned to the living area, she sat very near to Ryoga and pointed to his right hand. "Let me see." she said in a soft, but firm tone. He was confused. "Your hand." she insisted. He looked down at his right hand and noticed that it had a slight burn from the gun barrel going off. It was so minor to someone with his sturdy nature that he hadn't even noticed it. He didn't want to upset Lum, so he obligingly gave his hand over to her. When she closed her fingers around it to bring it a little closer, the soft touch sent a tingle through Ryoga's entire body. _There's a girl holding my hand_, he thought. She unfolded his fingers and gently applied a cream to soothe the burn. She pretended not to notice how hard he was blushing while she rubbed his hand and wrapped it with a bandage. She found his innocence adorable. She smiled and released his hand. "All better?" she asked. "Y-yes. Th-thank you very m-much." he stammered. He did everything he could to keep from looking into her eyes, but somehow his own betrayed him with a single quick glance. She had icy blue eyes that were cold and warm at the same time somehow. They stood out nicely against her pale skin and deep auburn hair. They were mesmerizing, even in small doses. He scolded himself internally. It was shameful that he should have an attraction to anyone while his heart belonged to Akane. That sort of thing was despicable. Not to mention that she was clearly older than he was, at least by three or four years. If she caught him looking at her like that, Lum would probably think that he really was a pervert.

Ryoga gave a small yelp of surprise when Mikhan tapped his shoulder lightly to let him know that his room was ready. He bowed his thanks again and bid the pair goodnight. When he had his door safely closed, Ryoga changed into a pair of pajamas from his pack and settled himself under the covers. It was nice to get a chance to sleep in a real bed for a change. He spent so much time on the road that it was a very rare thing indeed to enjoy comforts like warm meals and comfy places to sleep. If he could just figure out how to push aside his shy nature around this group of people, this had the potential to be a very enjoyable visit. He laughed a little at the idea that the children were likely to be at least a little disappointed when they realized that the new piglet was gone. He turned on his side and sighed. Maybe it would actually be better to stay in P-Chan's form while he was here. A random stranger in the house might be slightly alarming to the little ones. Perhaps he would discuss the idea with Mikhan or Lum in the morning. As it was their house, they would be better at making the call on what was appropriate than he was.

He looked down at his new bandage. He could still feel Lum's soft fingers on his lonely rough hand. It had felt so... pleasant. Akane's hands were tender like that when she held him as P-Chan, but any time she had happened to touch him in his human form, it was always very reserved. He was just a friend. Even when they had been set up on a date, Akane had kept him at a slight distance. As much as they fought and tried to deny it from each other, Akane and Ranma had a much more intimate relationship. How she could see anything in that disrespectful lummox, Ryoga could never guess, but it burned his heart with jealousy and remorse. Surely she knew his feelings for her. There were more than enough clues. He wasn't really the type to be blunt about things like that. He hoped every day that his actions spoke louder than words and she would figure out how much he adored her, but it always seemed that she didn't quite get it. It wasn't her fault. She had been so used to hoards of people at school fighting over her, then being set up with someone like Ranma... conflicting scenarios like that might have jaded her perception of what puppy love was. Or... well... in this case, piggy love. If only she could hold him in the same loving manner as a man, rather than as P-Chan. Still. He would enjoy tonight. Even if it was only the kindness of a beautiful stranger, tonight... someone cared for him.


	4. Chapter 4

_The hardest part of a rainy day is getting out of a warm bed, _Ryoga thought. Without opening his eyes, he pulled the covers over his head and nuzzled deep into his pillow. He sleepily tried to recall where he had pitched his tent, and wondered how far he might be from the Tendo Dojo and his beloved Akane. It didn't really matter, though. Somehow or another, he always found his way back there. Back to her. With a deep sigh, Ryoga flung his covers aside and opened his eyes to face the day. With a start, he realized that he wasn't in his tent. Slowly he began to remember the events from the day before... and the night before. He looked down at the bandage on his hand and allowed himself to blush a little at the memory of Lum's gentle fingers working over his own. It took him a moment to notice the six little pairs of eyes gawking at him quietly through the open door of his room.

Instinctively, Ryoga took a defensive stance, but quickly relaxed when he realized that they were only the children of the house. There was a long stare-down between them before the kids all leaped forward at once and began tugging on Ryoga from all sides. "Can you really turn into a piggy?" "Does it hurt?" "Are you magic?" "Can you play with us?" "Are you gonna live here?" "How come you have fangs?" There was nothing more that poor Ryoga wanted to do than jump through the window and run away into the woods. "Children! That is enough! Behave yourselves and go finish your breakfast." Mikham ordered. The children all groaned with frustration and filed out of the room. "Please excuse the little ones. We told them your story so as not to alarm them with your presence, and they just couldn't wait to meet you." the old man chuckled. Ryoga lowered his head, slightly embarrassed. Mikham stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Get dressed and join us for breakfast, won't you?" he invited kindly. Ryoga awkwardly bowed his thanks as Mikham excused himself.

The low chatter from the table and the steady din of the rain against the windows covered the sound of his footsteps through the house. He could escape if he wanted to. Well, no. He _wanted_ to, no question. But his sense of honor wouldn't let him. He owed a small amount of time at least to the folks of this home. They had given him shelter, after all. If he left now, it would be highly disrespectful. Ryoga had been raised better than that. He swallowed his discomfort and approached the table.

"Ooh! The piggy man! I'm Tadoma! You can sit by me!" one of the three little boys cried as he scooted over to make room. Ryoga winced at being called "piggy man". It stung of the same kind of irritable jabber that Ranma always seemed to have an abundant stock of. The boy hadn't meant anything by it, so Ryoga worked a smile up to the surface and took a place beside him at the table. After breakfast, Lum cleared the table and Mikham helped the children into raincoats. Ryoga wasn't quite sure of what to do with himself. Everyone seemed to have a task set to them. "If you would like to relax a little, feel free to watch some television, young man. Or if you are itching for something to do, you may assist an old man in gathering firewood for the day." Mikham said. Ryoga wanted to appear useful, so he grabbed his umbrella and walked outside, behind the children.

"We'll be going to a cave close by. That's where we leave our wood for the house. We run on a wood stove for everything this far out, you know. Heat and hot water are maintained by keeping it well stocked with food for the _fire nonji_ that lives in there. That way it will stay warm even if there is no one to tend it. With the windmills for electricity, we are completely self sustained." Mikham explained as they walked through the rain. The children laughed and splashed in all the puddles that they could find. Ryoga kept well clear of the spray and nodded his approval. "To be completely independent is very impressive. Many people take a hard day's work for granted, but there is nothing quite so satisfying as knowing that you can take care of yourself and create your own luxuries." he said. Mikham smiled slightly. "You speak as someone who has spent a long time being independent. How long have you been on your own, my boy?" Mikham asked. Ryoga's eyes widened a little. He didn't mean to give the wrong impression. "My parents are productive and kind. I would be welcome back at my home anytime, but I... just feel compelled to make my own way. To become everything I need to be for..." _for Akane _he almost said. But Ryoga just trailed off. Mikham patted him on the back. "I do not see you as any kind of person that would disrespect your parents. I only meant that you seem as though you spend an awful lot of time alone. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The world needs all types for humanity to grow. But there is nothing wrong with a little company now and again, wouldn't you agree?" All the wrinkles in Mikham's face turned down in a sorrowful frown when Ryoga didn't answer. Maybe he had been too personal.

Ryoga just stared into the distance, past the rain and thought of Akane's company. He remembered how his thoughts had betrayed him the night before when he had been with Lum. How could he claim to be a man of honor when his heart could be swayed so easily? It wasn't like anything had happened, but just the idea that it _could_ have was enough to upset him. Make him doubt his own integrity. After a moment, Ryoga noticed the change in the old man's face and felt a little guilty. "I apologize. I was lost in thought, Mikham-San .I find your company enjoyable." he assured the old man. Mikham smiled again and waved off to the left. "Here we are. Okay, children! Take what you can carry!" he called.

The kids all stopped what they were doing immediately and crept quietly into the cave, as though they were trying to make sure that something didn't wake up. One of the girls saw Ryoga walking confidently though the mouth of the cave and blushed in awe of his bravery. "Kima, look! He's not afraid of the monsters!" "Hush, Chi! You're gonna make the bad things come out!" another little girl shushed her. Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "What bad things?" he asked the blushing girl. She turned even redder as Ryoga got closer. "Um, well... There's a family of _nonji_ here. They sleep during the day in the back of the cave. The baby lives in our furnace room, and the mama and papa don't like that. They think it's a slave." she answered. "But it's the runt of the litter, so they don't care too much that it's gone. As long as we leave the big ones alone and we don't hurt the little one they leave us alone. It was gettin' kicked around out here. We actually saved it." Tadoma said. "I see. Well, why do you keep your wood here then?" Ryoga asked. "Because we built a small wall further back to keep the draft away from the _nonji_ as a peace offering, and as long as we don't intrude to far into the cave, we are free to use it as wood storage." Mikham explained. "It's beneficial for all of us. It stays warm in here because of he _nonji_, so the wood dries out faster, and we kept a family war from happening by taking the youngest into our care."

Ryoga noted that it was a great deal warmer in the cave than the weather outside would naturally allow it to be. And even though it was raining heavily, there was no trace of humidity. It was unusual. Ryoga smiled to himself when he saw the older children attempting to show off their strength to one another by carrying three pieces of wood rather than one small one in each hand like the younger ones were doing. He saw a large, uncut tree trunk against one wall and decided to show off a little himself. "Ha ha ha! That's too big to fit in the fireplace!" Nami laughed and tugged on the sleeves of two of the boys. "It's too big to carry. You're gonna hurt yourself." "Shut up, Cho! He can do it!" "You shut up, Ping! It's too big!" The two boys started wrestling on the ground. Ryoga ignored them and centered himself while Mikham tried to break up the fight. "_Bakusai Tenketsu_!" Ryoga cried. His index finger hit the perfect point on the tree trunk and it burst into a hundred or more manageable pieces of firewood. Everyone stared motionless as Ryoga held out his arms and waited for half of them to clatter neatly into his steady hands. He shifted all of it to one arm and used the other to hold his heavy umbrella up over his head. If he ran quickly, the wood wouldn't get too wet. "This enough?" he asked. Mikham nodded and urged the kids to head back towards the house so as not to wake the cave dwellers with their excited squealing.

Ryoga sped through the woods back through the way they had come. Lum was waiting by the outdoor entrance of the furnace room. She was surprised to find that Ryoga was approaching by himself, but quickly put on a bemused expression. "Grandstanding a little, are we?" she asked. Ryoga blushed. Lum just smiled benignly. "Thank you for your help, Ryoga. Let's get it set up, hmm?" Lum opened the door and helped Ryoga stack wood along the walls. He saw a pair of pale yellow eyes peeking out from a dark corner behind the furnace. "Is that...?" he started. "That is Kirbin, our _nonji_ friend. He lives here where it's warm and safe. He eats firewood and keeps our home heated with his spirit. Kirbin is wise and kind." Lum answered. She bowed respectfully and led Ryoga out so Kirbin could eat in peace.

Ryoga had a lot of questions, but he thought it best it keep them to himself for now. He wasn't exactly sure where he stood with Lum after the evening that they had had. Perhaps it was water under the bridge, or maybe she was still angry. Either way, Ryoga didn't want to press his luck. He shared his umbrella as they walked back up to the main entrance of the house. The children were heading back in with Mikham by the time they got back around. It seemed that the gentle rain was giving way to an angrier storm. You couldn't see a thing past the front porch. All the kids spread themselves on the floor with their toys and played quietly, warming themselves with Lum's delicious hot chocolate. Ryoga sipped some himself and waited to see what was next to do. With the rain raging on, outside chores were put on a standby, and it seemed like everything within the house was in order. He decided to excuse himself to meditate for a while. He desperately wanted to clear his mind of his awkward loneliness. Hours passed by, but it was the only way not to let himself be overrun by his thoughts. Thoughts of becoming stronger than Ranma; thoughts of being lost and searching for his Akane; thoughts of Lum's fierce personality and soft hands...


End file.
